Grab your hand sanitizer and get ready to freak about germs all over again, Plague Inc. is set to receive a major content update this February.

Update 1.5, dubbed Plague of the Necroa Virus, introduces a plague of zombies to the Pocket Gamer Gold Award-winning sickness simulator along with other new content and improvements.

Victims of the new Necroa Virus won't just die from the infection. Instead, they'll come back as zombies ready to tear into the tasty, uninfected flesh of their former friends.

Zombie jamboree

Humanity won't take this affront lying down, however. A secret organization dubbed 'Z Com' will set up fortresses around the world to stop the spread of the Necroa Virus.

As humanity's harbinger of death, it'll be your job to send your zombies to tear down these fortresses before the disease runs its course.

Thankfully, this will be easy to manage with a new gameplay mechanic (Active Abilities) that allows you to use DNA to target specific countries and create zombie hordes to do your bidding.

In addition to the new contagion, the 1.5 update will feature new events and achievements, UI enhancements, and localizations into French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Update 1.5 will be free to download, but those interested in the Necroa Virus will need to purchase it for £1.49 / $1.99. Alternatively, it can also be unlocked if you complete the whole of the game on the "Brutal" difficulty.